Gaming system with pre-calibrated sensor for detecting chip and finger placement

ABSTRACT

Gaming tables that support wager-based gaming are provided with input receiving devices that are structured to intuitively message to players what kind of wagers are permitted at which betting positions and when and then to automatically detect timely placement of such wagers at corresponding betting positions. This allows for faster unfolding of gaming action in that player confusion is minimized with respect to which wagers are being called for, when and where. An integrated compact sensor system is provided occupying slightly more table area than that needed for supporting wagering tokens of different denominations. The sensor system includes a large array of full color pixels (e.g., RGB capable pixels) for messaging to the players and proximity detection functionality for detecting 3D player hand gestures.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure of invention relates to operations of a gamingaction support machine and certain associated equipment within a gamingenvironment.

BACKGROUND

Wagering games typically involve at least some amount of luck inpredicting a chance outcome (e.g., a randomized dealing out of playingcards from one or more decks of playing cards, a chance landing of aRoulette ball on compartmentalized sector of a Roulette wheel, etc.).Such games may also involve varying amounts of skill in determining whento wager, when to abstain and how much to wager on which wageringopportunities including on so-called, side bets. Table-based wageringgames typically feature one or more players plus a dealer (human orautomated) placed about a game-supporting horizontal table where thechance event or events to be wagered on unfold on the table top (andoptionally on a computer screen viewable to all the players). Suchtable-based games may include, as non-limiting examples, blackjack,poker, baccarat and other types of card, tile and/or chip using games,as well as roulette, craps and other types of dice-using games. Suchtable-based games may allow active players to place side bets on aspecific community outcomes that may unfold by chance for all involvedaround the table. It is important that players place their respectiveand different kinds of wagers (e.g., base ante, bonus wager, side bet)at the right time and in the right place. In fast paced games, someplayers may become confused as which kind of wager is required orpermitted over what wager-detecting places and when such wagers are orare not permitted. This is a problem.

It is to be understood that the gaming table environment is not merely amachine-like physics experiment in chance outcomes. Instead, it ofteninvolves social engagement between the various players located aroundthe table, the dealer (or dealers if plural) and bystanders who may bewatching the gaming action. Enjoyment and excitement of the variousparticipants can be enhanced by allowing for rapid unfolding of gamingresults, requiring timely placement or pull-out of bets, allowing foroccasional winning of large jackpot prizes and/or bonus games, allowingfor chance dispersal of awards (e.g., community prizes) to more thanjust a one player who may have won a current round, display ofinteresting light patterns and production of game-related sounds.

One class of table-based games utilizes a relatively large video orother electronic display monitor mounted on or near the table so thatplayers (and optionally bystanders behind them) can easily see parts ofthe gaming action. The monitor displayed gaming action may includeshowing a wheel of chance, showing its spin motions and the possibleresults that may ensue from the wheel stopping its spin so that aspecific pie slice or other like segment of the wheel is selected (e.g.,pointed to) as the spin outcome. The spinning of the wheel and thedisplayed possible outcomes adds a sense of excitement and expectationfor players (and for bystanders). Monitor displayed gaming action mayalternatively or additionally show the current amount of a pendingjackpot prize and/or amounts that various players are currently wageringon respective gaming action outcomes.

In order to allow for real time displaying of player actions and allowfor rapid progression from one gaming round to the next, electronic chipsensors are routinely used in table-based games. One example of anelectronic chip sensor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,067 issued toPaulsen, et al. on Feb. 28, 1995 and entitled “System, method andapparatus for generating large jackpots on live game card tables”. InPaulson, a low profile electro-optical sensor disc has a centrallymounted photo sensor for detecting when a coin is timely placed over thecenter by a respective player to thus cut off ambient light. This isused to detect the placement or not of a wager of fixed amountrepresented by the coin. In an area not covered by a placed coin, alight source, such as a LED, functions as a visual “Coin AcceptedIndicator”. Once the dealer notes that the light source is lit beforegaming action begins, the dealer can lock in the bet and at the sametime cause the sensor light source to remain lit. Then the dealerremoves the coin from the table while the light source remains lit. Thusplayers cannot withdraw their wagers as the gaming action commences andeveryone sees which such coin-based wagers (e.g., jackpot side wagers)are on the table.

Another example of a table-based coin sensor is disclosed in U.S.Pre-grant Pub. 2012-0122559 to Kelly, et al. published May 17, 2012 andentitled “WAGER RECOGNITION SYSTEM”. Rather than relying on the cut-offof ambient light from above, a set of modulated and narrow band IR LEDSis placed below the coin/token acceptance area. When the coin/chip isplaced there, the modulated IR light is reflected to a central sensorfor detection of the reflected modulated light as being distinct fromany overhead ambient light. Red LEDs surrounding outside the coin/chipreceiving area light up to indicate coin acceptance. Coin sensinginformation is serially transmitted.

It is to be appreciated that while players enjoy the more well-knowntable-based games, they continue to seek new games that provide varietyof gaming action, greater excitement and heightened expectations oflarger payouts and more entertaining light displays. However,development of new and successful games is complex. A myriad ofintertwined criteria are involved. For example, table surface area islimited. Players desire games which are sufficiently challenging toretain their interest, but yet not too challenging (e.g., too confusing)to play or difficult to learn. Human to machine interfacing shouldappear to be intuitive. Players may desire wagering games where thewagers are structured in a way in which they increase the tension andexcitement of the game, but yet without the wager and payout structuresbeing too complex and thus difficult to understand. In addition, thegame must be configured so that it not only offers an apparentlyreasonable rate of return and/or chance to win to the players, but alsoassures the house a reasonable rate of return on the playing of a largenumber of the games. With these and other objectives in mind, the heredisclosed improvements have been developed.

It is to be understood that some concepts, ideas and problemrecognitions provided in this description of the Background may be novelrather than part of the prior art.

SUMMARY

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure of inventioncomprise structures and methods of intuitively messaging to players whatkind of wagers are permitted (or required) where and when during a fastunfolding game and of automatically detecting player signaling of wagerplacement and other player selections (e.g., player hand gestures) byway of an integrated compact mechanism that does not consume excessivesurface area on a gaming table. More specifically, a sensor systemoccupying slightly more table area than that needed for supporting chipsof different denominations is provided. The sensor system allows forintuitive messaging to players by use of a large array of full colorpixels (e.g., RGB capable pixels) and for player selection by way of 3Dfinger or hand gestures and for placing of bets of differentdenominations while providing players with entertaining feedback lightpatterns of many colors.

One embodiment provides a machine-assisted method of managing a game ofchance played by one or more players at a gaming table having pluralbetting positions where the provided method comprises: (a) while apredetermined first time window is open for receiving at least a firstwager of a first round of the game, using a respective pre-calibratedproximity detecting integrated circuit (Px IC) provided at eachrespective betting position to automatically detect if a correspondingfirst wager token has been placed at one or more of the respectivebetting positions as the first wager; and (b) at the close of thepredetermined first time window, causing a respective plurality ofmulti-colored light emitters provided at each of the respective bettingpositions where placement of a corresponding first wager token has beendetected to output a respective light pattern indicating that thecorresponding first wager has been accepted at that respective bettingposition.

One embodiment provides a machine system for managing a game of chanceplayed by one or more players at a gaming table having plural bettingpositions, where the system comprises at each betting position: (a)wager placement detecting means for automatically detecting if acorresponding first wager token has been placed at the respectivebetting position as the first wager while a predetermined first timewindow is open for receiving at least a first wager of a first round ofthe game, the wager placement detecting means including a respectivepre-calibrated proximity detecting integrated circuit (Px IC); and (b)game state signaling means for signaling to the player of the respectivebetting position that a corresponding first wager token has beendetected and accepted, the game state signaling means including arespective plurality of multi-colored light emitters operable to outputdifferently colored light patterns.

Further aspects, features, and advantages of embodiments provided inaccordance with the present disclosure of invention will become apparentfrom the below detailed description and associated drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a gaming table in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present disclosure of invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a top plan view layout of a printed circuit boardPCB of one embodiment having forty-eight serially connected RGB lightemitting pixels and a centrally disposed proximity detecting integratedcircuit as well as connectors to external resources.

FIG. 1C illustrates a bottom plan view of the PCB of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1D illustrates a top plan view with more details for the proximitydetecting integrated circuit.

FIG. 1E illustrates a schematic for one embodiment of a proximitydetecting integrated circuit.

FIG. 1F illustrates a top plan view for one embodiment of a multi-colorLED integrated circuit.

FIG. 1G illustrates a NRZ serial signaling scheme for the LED integratedcircuits.

FIG. 2 illustrates a machine-based gaming system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate first and second inputs to an input receivingdevice in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A schematically illustrates a structural assembly for an inputreceiving device having an associated indicator in accordance with oneembodiment.

FIGS. 4B-4L illustrate some controller established states for the inputreceiving device of FIG. 4A.

FIGS. 5A-5F provide an example schematic for the input receiving deviceof FIG. 1B.

FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram which illustrates embodiments ofpresenting and playing games in accordance with the present disclosureof invention.

FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram which illustrates software establishedminimums and maximums for output light intensities.

FIG. 8 is a process flow diagram which illustrates the detection ofdifferent kinds of wagering tokens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a more thorough description of illustrative embodimentsin accordance with the present disclosure of invention. It should beapparent, however, to those skilled in the art, that the illustrativeembodiments are not limiting and the teachings of the present disclosuremay be practiced in other ways without need for one or more of thespecific details. In other instances, well-known features have not beendescribed in detail so as not to obscure the disclosure.

One embodiment of a gaming table in accordance with the presentdisclosure of invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1A. Asillustrated in FIG. 1A, a horizontal game playing surface, such as agaming table 20, is provided. The gaming table 20 includes a top orplaying surface 22, typically a textured, contoured and/or markedplaying surface 22. The gaming table 20 may include one or moresupports, such as a base, legs or the like (not shown) via which theplaying surface 22 is elevated above a supporting surface such as acasino gaming floor. Although not shown, secured electroniccommunication and power cables may extend through one or more of thetable supports to connect with casino electronic networks and powerdistribution means provided under the casino gaming floor.

The shape of the playing surface 22 may vary. In one embodiment, thegaming table 20 has a rear (−X direction), dealer's side edge 24 whichis generally straight. The table 20 further has an opposed front (+Xdirection) edge 26 which is generally arcuate. Resilient bumpers orcushions may be located about either or both edges 24, 26. Players suchas 1009 (only one shown) typically position themselves distributivelyabout the arcuate front edge 26 to align with marked player positions(e.g., A1, A2, A3) while a casino dealer (not shown) typically positionshim or herself behind the rear edge 24.

In one embodiment, the playing surface 22 is predominantly planar.However, the playing surface 22 could have one or more raised areasand/or one or more depressed areas or other features which areintegrated into the table or added to the table, such as by beinglocated on or mounted to the top surface thereof. Various game-relatedinformation or features may be associated with the gaming table 20. Inone embodiment, the playing surface 22 comprises a gaming felt orsimilar element(s) which are located over a substrate, such as a planarsupport. The gaming felt may bear game play information or otherinformation, such as by printing on the felt. This information may vary,depending upon the game or games which are to be implemented at thegaming table 20. For example, printing on the gaming felt may compriseone or more payout schedules or tables 42, marking for where cards areto be located and other such markings. Specific details (e.g., 202-208)about one embodiment will be provided further below.

In one embodiment, the configuration of the gaming table 20, such as viaelements which are associated with the table 20 and information printedon the gaming felt, defines a dealer station 28 from where a dealer mayrun a game, and one or more player positions 30 (e.g., denoted as A1,A2, A3 of Table A). The dealer station 28 is generally located by therear edge 24 while the player positions 30 are located along the frontedge 26 opposite to the dealer station 28. The dealer may, for example,stand at the rear of the table adjacent to the dealer station 28. Eachrespective player (e.g., 1009) may stand or sit adjacent to a respectiveplayer position marking 30 provided on the gaming table 20.

In one embodiment, at least one game which is played at the gaming table20 is a wagering game. Wagers may be placed by moving physical gamingchips (e.g., 106 a, 106 b) or other elements into predetermined wagerindicating positions. In one embodiment, the chips have at least one ofcolor codings at their rims and/or underneath sides and RFID or liketransponders embedded in them. Wagers placed by players as well as theamounts of the wagers may be automatically sensed by detecting thecolored rim/underneath color codings and/or the chip-embedded RFID orlike transponders associated with the respective gaming chips (or otherwagering implements) as they are placed in proximity with one or moreinput receiving devices or input sensors 100. For the illustratedembodiment 20, the input receiving devices or input sensors 100 arestructured to each include at least three annular rings of multi-colorvisible light sources denoted as 101 (outer diameter light ring orODLR), 102 (median diameter light ring or MDLR) and 103 (inner diameterlight ring or IDLR). It is within the contemplation of the disclosure tohave a greater or lesser number of such rings of visible light sourcesand/or to use various regular geometric shapes for one or more of therings other than circular, for example hexagonal, octagonal, elliptical,etc.

At the center of each input sensor 100 is a three-dimensional objectproximity detector denoted as 105 and also as Px. The proximity detector105 is configured to distinguish between a player's hand 1009 bapproaching or passing by it and a circular disc-like wagering coin ortoken 106 a (or 106 b) passing by or over it in (e.g., as slid theretoby player's hand 1009 c). In one embodiment, the outer rims 107 a (or107 b) and or underneath faces (not shown) of the wagering tokens arecolor-coded to define the amounts being wagered. In one embodiment, thetokens are sized to have a cylindrical outer diameter that are slightlysmaller than a respective one of the outer diameter (OD) of the ODLR 101and the outer diameter (OD) of the MDLR 102 of the corresponding inputsensor 100. One or the other of the ODLR 101 and the MDLR 102 may beflashed on an exclusive basis to indicate which of the differently sizedtokens is required or permitted to be placed there at specific timewithin the gaming activity. Such dimensioning allows lights from theODLR 101 or the MDLR 102 (whichever is selected by the software) to beviewed as fully surrounding the outer rim 107 a (or 107 b) when theright-sized token 106 a (or 106 b) is centrally placed over the sensorarea 100. It is within the contemplation of the disclosure to usevarious regular geometric shapes for one or more of the wagering tokensother than circular, for example hexagonal, octagonal, elliptical, etc.to match the dimensions and shapes of one or more of the more outerrings (e.g., 101, 102) of the visible colored light sources 101-103. Thethree dimensional object proximity detector 105 is configured to be ableto detect and distinguish among various color coding provided on theouter rim 107 a, 107 b and/or underneath face of each kind of token 106a, 106 b for determining what type of token has been placed and also fordetermining is right kind of token has been placed within apredetermined permission-giving time window (e.g., before the dealercloses the option for placing that kind of wager). Dashed circle 108 aat betting position A2 indicates where the outer rim 107 a of token 106a would reside if placed centrally over that corresponding input sensor100. Dashed circle 108 b at betting position A3 indicates where theouter rim 107 b of token 106 b (latter not to scale) would reside ifplaced centrally over that corresponding input sensor 100. In oneembodiment, the outer diameter of each input sensor 100 is slightlylarger than 2.12 inches (e.g., it is 2.25 inches when including itsstructural containment bezel—not shown—in the measurement).

The three dimensional object proximity detector 105 is furtherconfigured to be able to detect and distinguish among various gesturesmade by the player's hand or fingers 1009 b as will be further detailedbelow. The detected hand gestures may be used to operate an on-screencursor object 36 b (e.g., displayed as a hand icon on the players'screen 36) for selectively actuating an on-screen wheel of chance 36 a(causing it to spin and/or stop) and/or for selectively picking amongon-screen options (e.g., treasure chests A, B or C). More details aboutthe proximity detector 105 will be provided later below.

Optionally, the gaming table 20 may have additional button shaped otherinput devices (wired or wireless, not shown) that are alternativelyactuated by the placed chips and/or by the player. However, for oneclass of embodiments, such additional other input devices not beincluded so as to avoid confusion by players. Instead, the multi-ring,multi-color emitting input sensors 100 are the only ones drawing theattention of players as needed and indicating to the players what kindsof inputs are allowed or necessary or not allowed at various times basedon the light patterns generated by those respective multi-ring,multi-color emitting input sensors 100. In the case where the additionalother sensors (not shown) are nonetheless used, the other sensors mayinclude any type of proximity sensor including, but not limited to,magnetic, electromagnetic (e.g., RFID), IR, acoustic, capacitive, or thelike. For example, the additional other input receiving devices (notshown) might comprise capacitive type sensors such as Lanbao CR30S™series capacitive sensors (produced by Shanghai Lanbao SensingTechnology Co.; www.shlanbao.cn), which sensors behave as standardelectrical 4-pin switches where the switch status changes when a chip(or other object, such as a player's hand) is placed on it. In anotherembodiment, the additional other input receiving devices or sensors (notshown) might comprise light sensing devices which measures the distancebetween the sensor and a chip (or other object, such as a player'shand), such as the VL6180X™ ambient light sensing proximity sensorproduced by STMICRO (www.st.com).

In one embodiment, one or more of the primary input receiving devices100 are each associated with a respective player position 30 (e.g., A1,A2, A3), thereby providing a simple and intuitive means for each playerto provide inputs relative to game play at that betting position (e.g.,A1, A2, A3) of the gaming table. The input receiving devices 100 areoperatively coupled to an electronic game controller (not shown—seeinstead FIG. 2) such that wagers may be easily placed, automaticallydetected and locked-in without need for verbal communication.

In one embodiment, the dealer station 28 may include one or more chiptrays 34 which are located on or at the gaming table 20 for storingchips 40 which may be used to pay player winnings and/or in which chipswhich were used by players to place wagers may be collected by thedealer (e.g., after their corresponding bets are locked-in as indicatedby predetermined light output patterns of one or more of the annularrings of the multi-color visible light sources 101, 102, 103.

In one embodiment, the gaming table 20 may include a number of otherfeatures. For example, the gaming table 20 may include one or moreabove-the-table displays 36 (above the table as measured along anorthogonal Z axis). The above-table displays (e.g., 36) may comprise oneor more single or double sided electronic image displays (such as anLCD, LED, OLED, DLP or other types of displays) or might even comprisemechanical and/or electro-mechanical display devices such as one or moremechanical spinning wheels or reels. The above-table display 36 may belocated at or near the gaming table 20 for use in displaying gamerelated information such as pay table information, game statusinformation, game outcome information, bonus information or the like.All players (e.g., 1009) about the table have an unobstructed line ofsight 1009 a to the displayed imagery. The table display 36 might alsobe used to display promotional information (e.g., reward possibilities)or advertising. In one embodiment, a larger slave copy of the mainabove-table display 36 may be located on a wall near the table so thaton-lookers can easily view the gaming action as it develops at thecorresponding table. In one embodiment, movement of each player's handcursor 36 b is viewable on the larger slave copy of the main above-tabledisplay 36 where that viewable movement may include placement of bets ofdifferent denominations (e.g., $5, $50, $100).

The gaming table 20 might also comprise or include various further inputdevices and/or other display devices. The further input devices mightinclude one or more dealer-controlled input devices such as one or morebuttons and/or a dealer-controlled touchscreen display 38. For example,the dealer display 38 might comprise a display which displaysgame-related information to the dealer and allows the dealer to providevarious inputs. Of course, various other types of input and displaydevices might be associated with the gaming table 20. The gaming table20 might also include player-controlled touch-screens, inputs buttons orthe like.

Additional details of a gaming table in accordance with one embodimentof the invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Asillustrated, in this embodiment, elements of the gaming table 20 areassociated with or connected to at least one table controller 1000. Thetable controller 1000 may be located at the gaming table 20 or may beremote therefrom; for example protectively secured in a locked cabinetelsewhere in the casino.

In one embodiment, the table controller 1000 comprises one or moreinstructable data processing units (e.g., CPU's. GPU's etc.) typicallyreferred to as processors 1002 (only one shown) which is/are configuredto execute respective data processing and data input/output operationsin accordance with non-transitory machine readable code fixed in atangible medium (e.g. “software”). The table controller 1000 may alsocomprise one or more information or data storage devices 1004 (only oneshown). These data storage devices 1004 may comprise any type of datastorage device such as on or off chip cache, ROM, RAM, EPROM or thelike, as well as mass storage devices such as hard drives. The datastorage devices 1004 may store various data, including game code orsoftware which is executable by the processor(s) 1002 and other data,such as game data including wager data, game outcome data, images, etc.

The table controller 1000 includes one or more communication interfaces1006 (only one shown). The communication interface(s) 1006 mayfacilitate wireless and/or wired communications with one or more remotesystems or devices in accordance with various protocols (USB, Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, Ethernet, Firewire, etc.). In one embodiment, data orinformation may be exchanged between the processor(s) 1002, data storagedevice(s) 1004 and communication interface(s) 1006 via one or more dataexchange fabrics, such as a system bus 1008. Of course, the tablecontroller 1000 might have other configurations, including otherelements or features.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the one or more primary input receivingdevices 100 of the gaming table 20 may be operatively coupled with thetable controller 1000 so that the table controller 1000 may receiveinformation from those devices 100 and, in some embodiments, may alsotransmit information (e.g., desired light patterns for the visible lightemitting rings 101, 102, 103) to those devices Likewise, the dealerinput and/or display devices, such as the dealer touchscreen 38, may beinterfaced to the table controller 1000. Also, other input and/ordisplay devices such as the table display 36 may be interfaced to thetable controller 1000.

In one embodiment, the table controller 1000 and/or other devices (e.g.,external and operatively coupled other data processing devices, notshown) associated with the gaming table 20 may determine player monetaryor chip value balances, including based upon monies associated with playat the table 20 by the player (such as chips purchased), amountswagered, amounts won, wheel of chance spin outcomes and the like.

The gaming table 20 of the present disclosure may include or beassociated with other elements or devices. For example, the gaming table20 might include other gaming equipment, such as Roulette wheels, one ormore player displays (such as located at each player position 30 andconfigured to display game information, player tracking information,advertising or other information), card shoe(s), card reader(s), cardshuffler(s), player tracking devices (such as for reading a playertracking card or other media of a player for use in tracking theplayer's game play) and the like. The gaming table 20 might also beconnected to external devices. For example, the table controller 1000might be securely coupled (by wire, fiber and/or wirelessly) to one ormore casino servers or other data processing systems. These may includea casino accounting server which tracks game play at each of pluralgaming tables such as 20, where the tracking may collect informationsuch as that relative to the amounts of wagers placed and winnings paidto the players, among other information. The gaming table 20 might alsobe connected to a player tracking server and include player trackingelements such as player card readers.

The gaming system might include yet other elements, such as inputreceiving device controllers or the like. In one embodiment, the inputreceiving devices 100 communicate with a hub or aggregator 1010 whichcommunicates with the table controller 1000. The hub 1010 may beconfigured to read or determine the status of each input receivingdevice 100 and provide information to the table controller 1000, such asfor example, when the status of an input receiving device 100 changes.The hub 1010 may also comprise a power source for the input receivingdevices 100. As another example, a proximity-type input sensor might beconfigured as a USB type device having a USB controller. The tablecontroller 1000 may be configured to control the proximity device as aUSB device. In this regard, the processor(s) 1002 and/or one or moresub-processors or controllers may be utilized to control the inputreceiving devices 100 and/or the hub 1010. Although not explicitly shownas such, in one embodiment, the hub 1010 may communicate bidirectionallywith one or more of the input receiving devices 100 using a daisy chaintype serial link 1007 in which each input receiving device 100 isassigned a unique identification (e.g., address) and information isrelayed serially from one device 100 to the next such that the seriallyrelayed information (data signal) reaches its addressed target (e.g., aspecifically addressed device 100, two or more multicast-wise addresseddevices 100 and/or the hub 1010).

In one embodiment, different kinds of input devices might be utilizedfor receiving different kinds of inputs (such as one input device forreceiving a wager input and another input device for receiving a “spin”initiating or halting input or the like). In another embodiment, the oneor more input receiving devices 100 are configured to receive aplurality of different kinds of inputs. In other words, each inputreceiving device 100 may be configured to receive two or more inputs,for example 3D type hand gestures and wagering tokens of differentdenominations. The inputs may be game-related inputs by a player andcomprise two or more different types of inputs at two or more differenttimes.

In one or more embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure,aspects of the input receiving devices 100 and/or other devices orelements may be controlled or utilized to facilitate the receipt of thedifferent player inputs. For example, the input receiving devices 100and/or the table controller 1000 may be configured to control thereceipt of inputs, such as by selectively activating and deactivatingthe input receiving devices 100 so that they will message to the playersaccordingly (via their lights 101-103) and they will receive respectiveinputs at certain respective times, but not others (e.g., no morewagering placements accepted after the gaming action of a given roundhas begun). In other embodiments, the respective configurations of therespective input receiving devices 100 may change to facilitatedetection and filtering of correspondingly expected input(s), such as bychanging a detecting sensitivity to thereby distinguish between anintended player input and an unintended input. In yet other embodimentsdescribed herein, one or more secondary elements, such as audio and/orvisual indicators may be used in conjunction with the input receivingdevices 100 to facilitate the input receiving and/or input inhibitingfunctionalities of the input receiving devices 100.

In one example embodiment, a wagering game may be presented at thegaming table 20 where the game may has a base or core game portion andan optional secondary or bonus game portion. For example, the base gameportion may comprise a card game which is played with one or more decksof physical playing cards. The bonus game might comprise use of a chancebonus wheel spin 36 a (e.g., as initiated by a tapping gesture by aplayer finger over the Px detector 105) for determining a potentialbonus award (e.g., enhancing prize 36 p 1).

In one embodiment, the input receiving devices 100 may be turned off ormay be configured to not report inputs except during designated times.This prevents, for example, inadvertent inputs from being received whengames are not being presented or when other activities are occurring.For example, it may be preferable for the input receiving devices 100 tonot report/recognize inputs between games or during certain portions ofa game where inputs are not allowed according to game rules. In oneembodiment, players learn that their inputs have been accepted only whencertain light patterns (e.g., flashing green lines) are displayed by therespective input receiving devices 100.

In one embodiment, the input receiving devices 100 may be turned off byproviding an instruction to them to not receive or transmit inputs. Inother embodiments, the table controller 1000 could be configured toignore input signals from the input receiving devices 100 when certainpredetermined conditions exist. In one embodiment, players learn thattheir inputs cannot be accepted when certain light patterns (e.g., solidred alternating inner/outer circles) are displayed by the respectiveinput receiving devices 100.

In one embodiment, the input receiving devices 100 may be “activated”,such as by turning them on or by causing the table controller 1000 to beconfigured to receive inputs from the input receiving devices 100. Thisstep may be implemented by a dealer, such as by input to the one or moredealer input devices. For example, the dealer display 38 might display a“start game/receive wagers” touch-sensitive button which the dealer mayselect. In response to that input, the table controller 1000 may beconfigured to then receive inputs from the input receiving devices 100or may send control instructions to those devices to cause them to beactivated and may present instructions to respective players such as,“Enter your base bet now”. In one embodiment, the visible light emitters101-103 of the devices 100 may emit certain lighting patterns (e.g.,slow rotating green radial lines) to indicate that they are ready toaccept the placement of such wagers.

After activation, one or more first inputs may be provided to the one ormore input receiving devices 100. This may comprise, for example, afirst type of input such as a wager input, such as via the detection ofplacement of one or more chips.

In one embodiment, each player who wishes to play the game may berequired to place one or more initial wagers (anting-in bets). Theplayer might optionally be permitted to place other wagers at the startof the gaming action and/or at later times as the gaming actionprogresses. For example, a player might be required to place one or morebase wagers to play the game and might be permitted to optionally placea bonus wager. In one embodiment, one or more input receiving devices100 are associated with each player position 30. Although less desirablebecause it might lead to player confusion, more than one input receivingdevice 100 may be provided relative to each player, such as forreceiving a base wager and a bonus or side wager. In the latter case,the respective plural input receiving devices 100, 100″ (latter notshown) may have different shapes (e.g., one being circular, the otherhexagonal) so that players can intuitively distinguish between them.

In one embodiment, a wager input may be provided by a player placing oneor more chips 106 a, 106 b (provided by the dealer from area 34) on oradjacent to a particular input receiving device 100, such as illustratedin FIG. 3A. At that time, the wager input(s) may be detected by thosedevices 100 and may be transmitted to the table controller 1000 forprocessing and storage. Wager information may be displayed to thedealer, such as via the dealer display 38. The dealer might then collectthe wager-defining chips and place those wagered chips back in the chiptray 34. In one embodiment, the visible lights of an input receivingdevice 100 from which a wager has been collected may glow with a colorcoded indication that the wager has been accepted and locked-in (eventhough the token had been removed) where the color indicates the amountof the wager (e.g., green for $5, blue for $50). The glow may be one inwhich the intensity slowly increases and then decreases to intuitivelyindicate the wager is waiting for a gaming action outcome.

In one embodiment, after a first input period, the input receivingdevices 100 may again be de-activated. Once again, this may comprise adealer providing input to the dealer input device(s), such as the dealertouchscreen 38. For example, the dealer touchscreen 38 might display a“close wager” button which the dealer may select. This may cause thetable controller 1000 to no longer receive inputs from the inputreceiving devices 100 and/or to send a control instruction to thosedevices to de-activate them. In one embodiment, the visible lights of aninput receiving device 100 into which a wager may no longer be placeddisplay a steady red pattern.

At one or more times, the input receiving devices 100 may be configuredto receive one or more additional or second inputs. Such a secondaryinput might comprise a secondary or other additional wager. In oneembodiment, different color coded and/or time-changing light patternsare used at the devices 100 for indicating acceptability of thesecondary input. One or more of the secondary inputs may comprise adifferent type of input than the first input. In order to receive the atleast one secondary input, the input receiving devices 100 may again bere-activated and optionally reconfigured for a different kind of input.In one embodiment, only certain input receiving devices 100 may beactivated for receiving particular inputs. For example, a player whoplaced a bonus wager and received a certain bonus-triggering result fromthe play of a base game might be permitted to participate in a bonusevent, such as one or more bonus wheel spins. As described below, in oneembodiment, a player might be entitled to a corresponding one or morespins of respective award wheels (e.g., 36 a) whose outcomes select ordetermine one or more awards, such as awards for having won a bet. Thehere disclosed spin technology may be implemented relative to a varietyof games, including for example blackjack, baccarat, poker and othersuch card-utilizing or other symbols-collecting games. In oneembodiment, only the input receiving devices 1002 corresponding to onlythose player positions 30 entitled to participate in the bonus event,award event or the like are activated. In one embodiment, the inputreceiving devices 100 relative to the other players remain inactive (andoptionally show a red stop pattern), such as to prevent accidental inputthereto.

In one embodiment, an input signal might comprise a player placing theirhand, one or more fingers or another body part or the like on oradjacent to the input receiving device 100, or waving their hand acrossthe device (for example in a predetermined gesture), such asschematically illustrated in FIG. 3B may be used to indicate playerdesires to the table controller 1000. For example, in response to thedetection by proximity detector 105 of a player's hand making a verticaltapping motion, the corresponding input receiving device 100 may send asignal to the table controller 1000 to initiate a spin of a virtualwheel of chance (e.g., 36 a). The table controller 1000 may then beconfigured to cause the table display 36 to display the image of a firstwheel (e.g., virtual WHEEL #1) which rotates and then settles into astopped position that indicates a specific award or bonus location (pieslice) as the wheel determined outcome, such as indicated by the hashedwheel slice in FIG. 1A for the illustrated WHEEL #1. The bonus spinoutcome or award selection event may result in the player being awardeda bonus win or a selected or selectable award. In one embodiment, thebonus wheel spin outcome (settled on slice) may entitle the player to achoice among plural hidden prizes 36 c (e.g., treasure chests A, B, C).The player may then directionally gesture a slide to the left or to theright over proximity detector 105 to thereby move cursor object 36 b tothe desired choice. The player may then directionally gesture a slidetoward the back of the table (in the −X direction) to finalize thechoice. As will be seen, in one embodiment, the proximity detector (Px)105 can be enabled to detect directional gestures in one or more of 3Daxes including horizontal left-to-right (and vice versa), horizontalup-to-down (and vice versa), and vertical (Z axis) top to bottom (andvice versa). The detectable 3D gestures may also include circularmovement patterns.

Referring to FIG. 1B, shown is a circuit components layout as seen froma top plan view for one embodiment 100′ of the primary input receivingdevices. This embodiment 100′ includes circular printed circuit board(PCB) having an outer boundary denoted as 101 b and an assembly keyingnotch denoted as 101 k. The PCB can be a multilayer laminated circuitboard which includes at least one ground plane (Vss) and one highervoltage (Vdd) distribution plane. In one embodiment, circuit componentsare mounted on both of opposed major faces of the PCB (see also brieflyFIG. 1C), there are at least four spaced apart wiring layers includingtwo ground planes (not shown) respectively provided in close proximitywith the opposed major faces of the PCB and the higher voltage (Vdd)distribution plane that provides a +5V potential although some of thecircuit components operate at a lower potential (e.g., +3.3V). In oneembodiment the diameter of outer boundary 101 b is 2.12 inches. Certaindesign deviations were used, as will be explained below, to squeeze thedesired number of colored light emitting sources (e.g., LEDic1, LEDic24,etc.) into the limited surface area of the substantially circular PCB.It is contemplated that similar deviations from conventional designstrategies may be used to squeeze similar circuit components into PCBsof diameters even smaller than 2.12 inches or to produce input receivingdevices with a greater number of light-emitting rings while usingsubstantially circular PCBs (e.g., ones with keying notches provided intheir generally circular boundary for assisting in aligned mounting) ofdiameters slightly larger than 2.12 inches (e.g., about 3 inches orless).

Referring to further specifics of FIG. 1B, it is seen that a pluralityof mounting holes (e.g., MH1, MH2) are provided near the outer boundary101 b of the PCB and that corresponding ones (e.g., LEDic1 and LEDic24)of multi-color light emitting integrated circuits disposed about themounting holes (e.g., MH1, MH2) are oriented differently than themajority of other such light-emitting IC's to make room for the mountingholes. Additionally, rather than being perfectly symmetrical, certainlinearly aligned groups of the light-emitting IC's are rotated out ofsymmetry to make room for the mounting holes (e.g., MH1, MH2).

Continuing with the details of FIG. 1B, the circular PCB is subdividedinto annular zones. A first annular zone appears roughly between outerboundary 101 b and dashed phantom circle 102 b. This first annular zone(101 b-102 b) is populated by 24 multi-colored light emitting sources(e.g., LEDic1, LEDic12, LEDic13, LEDic24, etc.) and corresponding onesof power supply filtering capacitors (e.g., C2, C25, C124, C123)disposed adjacent to the respective LEDic's. Generally, for the firstannular zone (101 b-102 b) there is one filter capacitor (e.g., C2)disposed adjacent to a corresponding LEDic for minimizing parasiticinductive and resistive currents and connecting as closely as possibleto the Vdd and Vss power terminals of that respective LEDic. However, tomake room for the mounting holes (e.g., MH1, MH2) certain ones of thepower supply filtering capacitors (e.g., C124 and C123) are disposed soas to be each shared by an adjacent pair of the multi-colored lightemitting sources (e.g., LEDic1 and LEDic24; LEDic12 and LEDic13).Generally, for the first annular zone (101 b-102 b) each filtercapacitor (e.g., C2) is disposed radially inwardly of its respectivelyserved LEDic. However, to make room for mounting hole MH2, capacitorC123 is disposed radially outwardly of its respectively served LEDic's12 and 13.

A second annular zone appears roughly between phantom circle 102 b anddash-dot phantom circle 103 b. This second annular zone (102 b-103 b) ispopulated by a further 16 of the multi-colored light emitting sources(LEDic's). A third annular zone appears roughly between phantom dash-dotcircle 103 b and dashed phantom circle 104 b. This third annular zone(103 b-104 b) is populated by a further 8 of the multi-colored lightemitting sources (LEDic's) thus making for a total of forty-eight suchlight-emitting integrated circuits organized as three concentric rings.Rather than having corresponding power filtering capacitors servingthem, the LEDic's of the middle or second annular zone are disposed toshare pairs of such capacitors. More specifically, LEDic56 shares the C5and C6 capacitors that are disposed radially outward from it. LEDic57shares the capacitors straddling it on its radially inward side and itsradially outward side. The pattern repeats for LEDic58 which has accessto the two adjacent capacitors on its radially outward side and so onfor the multi-colored light emitting sources (LEDic's) of the secondannular zone (102 b-103 b). The 7 of the 8 LEDic's of the third annularzone (103 b-104 b) are each respectively serviced by a correspondingfilter capacitor disposed adjacent to its radially outward side. Theeighth of these multi-colored light emitting sources which is closest toa GND and Vdd power supplying connector 104 c does not have animmediately adjacent filter capacitor. However because it is so close tothe power (and communications) supplying connector 104 c, parasiticinductive and resistive currents are relatively minimal for that eighthinner circle LEDic. While the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1B sports48 LEDic's distributed about three (3) annular zones, it is within thecontemplation of the present disclosure to have a larger or smallernumber of such multi-colored light emitting sources distributed abouttwo (2) or more annular zones. In one alternate embodiment, 16 LEDic'sare distributed about just two annular zones. In another alternateembodiment, 24 LEDic's are distributed about just two annular zones.

A fourth annular zone appears roughly between phantom circles 104 b and105 b. As seen, this fourth annular zone (104 b-105 b) is primarilyreserved on the top side of the PCB for connectors including theaforementioned power (and communications) supplying connector 104 c. Anexpansion connector area 104 d is provided for future expansion and/ortest and debug purposes. Power signals and control signals emanateradially outward from the centrally disposed supplying connector 104 cto the various LEDic's disposed about the first through third annularzones. The power signals (e.g., Vdd and Vss) have the longest distanceto travel to the most outwardly LEDic's of the first annular zone (101b-102 b) which is why most of these latter LEDic's each have a filtercapacitor disposed adjacent to it (the exception being those LEDic'ssuch as LEDic1 and LEDic24 which have a mounting hole near them).

Referring to FIG. 1C, shown is the downward facing major side of the PCBof FIG. 1B. As the seen, the aforementioned power (and communications)supplying connector 104 c as three ground (GND) lines extending to it aswell as two Vdd (+5V) lines. Additionally, a serial data received lineRx and serial data transmit line Tx are provided. DTR is an active highreset line which is normally pulled low to ground (see also FIG. 5F). Amicrocontroller unit U4 is mounted substantially centrally on thisbottom face of the PCB. Various further filter capacitors, resistors andancillary other integrated circuits (e.g., +3.3 voltage regulator,+5/+3.3 level shifter) are also provided on the backside. A reset switchSw1 is optionally provided for debugging purposes.

Inward of phantom boundary circle 105 b of FIG. 1B, a proximitydetecting integrated circuit 105 a is mounted so as to receive bothincoming visible light and infrared (IR) signals. Referring to FIG. 1D amore detailed view is shown of what embodiment of the proximitydetecting integrated circuit 105 a which in this case is an AvagoTechnologies APDS-9660™ combination IR digital proximity and 3D gesturedetector as well as an RGB light sensor available from AvagoTech.com(see briefly also FIG. 1E). FIG. 1D illustrates only an IR (infrared)emitting (105 e) and IR directional detecting portion (105 d) of the Pxintegrated circuit 105′. The L, R, U, D blocks refer to directional IRdetecting photodiodes of the APDS-9660™ integrated circuit. These blocksallow for movement detection in the left to right (L to R) direction (orvice versa) and in the lateral up (U) to down (D) (or vice versa) of theXY plane. Proximity discrimination in the vertical Z direction isenabled by time-of-flight phase detection for IR pulses emitted from theIR LED 105 e. In the illustrated example, a user's hand 1009 b′ that isimplementing a gesture approaches the LRUD detection window 1005 d fromthe player side of the table. Time-of-flight phase detection for IRpulses emitted from the IR LED 105 e is performed by one or more of theL, R, U, D directional IR detecting photodiodes so as to determinedistance in the Z direction away from the LRUD detection window 105 d.The difference in receive signals at the L, R, U, D directional IRdetecting photodiodes further determines directional motion of theapproaching object (e.g., user's hand 1009 b′) in the XY plane.Additionally, visible light detectors within the APDS-9660™ integratedcircuit (not shown in FIG. 1D) are used to detect colorations in theapproaching object as it passes by the detection window 105 d and todistinguish between objects (e.g., color coded wager tokens) that aresupposed to have predetermined bands of specific colors and objects thatdo not (e.g., the user's hand). A more detailed schematic of theAPDS-9660™ integrated circuit is seen in FIG. 1E. One of the features ofthe APDS-9660™ integrated circuit is that it has factory pre-calibrated(e.g., trimmed) visible light photodetectors respectively identified asRed, Green, Blue, Clear disposed in the detection window area 105 d.These may be used for automatically further calibrating the emissions ofthe multi-colored light emitting sources (LEDic's) on the PCB and foraccurately detecting the presence or absence of predetermined colorcodings that are to be provided on the rims (e.g., 107 a, 107 b) orundersides of wagering tokens (e.g., 106 a, 106 b) that are placed overthe input receiving devices 100 (see also briefly token 430 of FIG. 4A).

In terms of more detail, the APDS-9660™ integrated circuit includes agestures detection engine that is automatically activated based onproximity engine results. It further includes modules for ambient lightsubtraction and crosstalk cancellation. Communication is via aninterrupt driven I²C bus. The RGB color sensing section includes UV andIR blocking filters so that such portions of the ambient lighting orreflections from the in-IC IR LED emitter 105 e do not interfere withaccurate sensing in the R, G, B, and Clear bands. Additionally, theintegrated circuit features programmability of gain and integration timeso as to allow for highly sensitive light detection, even that passedthrough dark glass.

In one embodiment each of the multi-colored light emitting sources(LEDic's) on the PCB is constituted by a four pin package such as thatof the Shenzhen Led Color Optoelectronic Co. APA102-Mini-3535™ and/orthe Shenzhen Worldsemi Technology Co., Ltd. WS2812B-Mini-3535™integrated light sources respectively available from said companies. Asseen in FIG. 1F, this four pin device uses two of its pins (Vdd and Vss)for power and ground while the other two (Din, Dout) allow for seriallycascaded transfer of lighting commands along a daisy chain connectedsequence of such integrated circuits. More specifically, eachWS2812B-Mini™ integrated light source will consume a 24-bit headerportion (after a clock-synchronizing RET code portion—FIG. 1G) of areceived input signal (at Din) and forward a repeater-regenerated copyof the remainder of the received input signal (via Dout) as well as theclock-synchronizing RET code portion to the next such integrated circuitin the daisy chain connected sequence. (See briefly FIG. 5A.) Eachconsumed 24-bit header portion of a respective LED integrated circuit(e.g., LEDic24 in FIG. 1B) represents a lighting command consisting of8-bits of Red LED information, 8-bits of Green LED information and8-bits of Blue LED information, thus allowing for 256 levels ofintensity specification for the RGB primary colors of the respectivepixel implemented by the respective LED integrated circuit including anR=0, G=0, B=0 turn off command. Because of this capability, halftonedithering may be used to create sophisticated images with thearrangement of the forty-eight such LED integrated circuits shown inFIG. 1B or another such arrangements. The daisy chain serial connectingof the forty-eight LED integrated circuits may take the form of a singlespiral starting at the inner phantom circle 104 b and terminating withone of the LEDic's adjacent to the PCB outer boundary 101 b.Alternatively, a plurality of such daisy chained serial connections maybe used; for example one for the outer annular zone, a second one forthe median annular zone and a third for the inner annular zone. Anadvantage of having plural such daisy chain serial connections is sothat if one of the daisy-chained series suffers a failure at its inputand or anywhere further along the chain, the other chains will continueto function and then the point of failure could be more readilyisolated. Other configurations of one or more such daisy chained serialconnections are also possible. The microcontroller (see U4 of FIG. 1Cand also briefly U4 of FIG. 5C) that controls the LEDic's may beprogrammed to output the appropriate Din signal for each respectivedaisy chain based on its physical routing among the LED integratedcircuits layer.

FIG. 4F shows a top plan schematic view of a PCB in accordance with thepresent disclosure that includes vertical and horizontal phantomguidelines for showing how the design is slightly skewed from aconventional one to make room for the mounting holes and thepower/communications connector. The capacitors are not shown for thesake of avoiding illustrative clutter.

FIG. 4G shows a top plan schematic view of the same PCB with certainones of the LEDic's lit up to full white (R=255, G=255, B=255) to showhow various straight-line or alike patterns may be generated. Although afull “X” pattern of crossed hockey sticks (or check marks) are shown asbeing composed of only white dots in FIG. 4G, those dots do not all haveto be on at the same time or all of them being white at the same time. Amultitude of time varying, color varying, as well as intensity varyingpatterns are contemplated. FIG. 4H shows a top plan schematic view ofthe same PCB with certain others of the LEDic's lit up to create aperception of off-center slanted lines. Where the lower right line cutsbetween two LEDic's near the line center, those two LEDic's can bedriven with an appropriate pattern dithering intensity to create animpression of a lit pixel located between them. FIGS. 41-4J illustrate atop plan schematic view of the same PCB with certain others of theLEDic's lit up to create a perception of a happy face emoji. FIGS. 4K-4Lillustrate a top plan schematic view of the same PCB with certain othersof the LEDic's lit up to create a perception of a sad face emoji. Ofcourse these are crude depictions limited by the nature of the staticblack and white drawings. The desired perceptions can be enhanced withchoice of colors, pixel intensities and animation. Various techniquesare known in the art of pixel driving for creating the impression ofthere being lit spots and/or moving spots in places other than where thephysical centers of the hardware pixels are located. Additionally, theLEDic's may be overlaid by an optics layer (see briefly 403 of FIG. 4A)that includes light diffusion and/or focusing functionalities in thevisible light band (and/or in narrower bands) and that are atpredetermined locations in the X-Y plane of the optics layer forcreating desired visual perceptions for users around the gaming table.

Referring to FIG. 4B, shown schematically is a first state where thelight emitters in the annular zones 101 a-103 a are lit in a firstpattern (e.g., blinking from having one dot on the bottom to a pluralityon the top and then pausing between repeats to indicate an arrowdirection), where the light pattern is part of a messaging to the playerthat a timeslot is now open for placing a color coded wager token 106 aor 106 b over the center 105 of the sensor 100. FIG. 4C shows a secondstate where the light emitters in rings 101 b-103 b are lit as acirculating second pattern and as part of a second messaging to theplayer that a timeslot is now open for the player to manually initiatethe spin of an indicated wheel of chance. FIG. 4D shows a third statewhere the light emitters in rings 101 c-103 c are lit as a horizontallyalternating pattern to indicate to the player that a timeslot is nowopen for the player to move a hand either left or right or right to leftover the sensor center 105 for moving a cursor (36 b) on the screen 36in a corresponding direction for selecting an available menu option(e.g., 36 c of FIG. 1A). FIG. 4E shows a fourth state where the lightemitters in rings 101 d-103 d are lit as a fixed steady pattern toindicate to the player that his or her recently placed wager (nowremoved by the dealer) has been accepted and locked-in for the upcominground of gaming action. Different intuitive colors and intensities maybe used when lighting up the LEDic's for messaging to the players, forexample red to indicate stop, green to indicate permission to proceedand amber to indicate caution. As a result of the ability to intuitivelyprovide different forms a messaging to the players by way of the LEDic'sprovided in the sensor areas 100, players can learn to be less confusedand more confident as fast-paced gaming actions unfold. It is to beunderstood that the illustrative few examples of patterns mentioned hereas ones that can be displayed by the plural rings of multi-colored lightemitting sources (e.g., LEDic's) are not limiting. As indicated above,the number of annular zones can be larger or smaller than three (3). Thenumber and/or kinds of multi-colored light emitting sources that aredistributed about the annular zones can be different. Animated, coloredpatterns can be independently instituted in each of the annular zones.For example, a first of the annular zones may be operated to display agradient of luminances of a first color (e.g., blue) that slowlycirculates in the clockwise direction (e.g., one CW rotation every 3seconds). At the same or a different time, a second of the annular zonesmay be operated to display a gradient of luminances of a second color(e.g., yellow) that circulates more quickly in the counterclockwisedirection (e.g., one CCW rotation every second). The CCW and/or CWrotations may be temporarily paused and then resumed or have theirintensities faded out to black and then slowly returned to higherbrightness. Animated, colored patterns can also be interdependentlyinstituted among the annular zones. For example, while the other ringsremain turned off, the LEDic's of the outermost ring may have theirintensity (brightness) slowly increased from dark to bright using asingle color (e.g., green) or a predetermined set of colors (e.g., overa ramp up period of about 0.5 second). Then the same ramp up is repeatedfor the next inward ring and then for the next one after that. Theeffect may be that of a radially inward flowing pattern. Alternatively,the progression may be from innermost ring to outermost ring to create aradially outward flowing pattern. The patterns may spin or not spin. Thepatterns may pulsate. In one embodiment, a rainbow of colors spirallychases itself from inwardmost ring to outermost ring or vice versa. Inone class of embodiments the patterns are formed to be independent ofthe angular orientation of each sensor puck 100 relative to the gamingtable 22 and/or to a respective player. This can be achieved using therotating annular patterns mentioned here.

Referring next to FIG. 4A, a side view of one embodiment 400 isillustrated. Surface 401 a corresponds to the upward facing side of thePCB as shown in FIG. 1B. Surface 401 d corresponds to the down facingside of the PCB as shown in FIG. 1C. Edge 401 b corresponds to the outerbound 101 b of the PCB as shown in FIG. 1B. Mounting holes MH1 and MH2are indicated with similar reference symbols. As shown in FIG. 4A, uppersurface 401 a is part of a layer that includes the central proximitydetector (Px) and the plural rings of the visible light emitters (e.g.,LEDic's). Bottom surface 401 d is part of a layer of the multilayer PCBthat includes the microcontroller and the connector pads to whichcentral connector 401 c is mounted. The central connector 401 c receivesan orthogonally oriented daughter board 410 which can have powerconditioning circuitry provided thereon (e.g., a +5V voltage regulator)and communications interfacing circuitry further provided thereon. Thedaughter board 410 has a further connector 411 mounted to an opposedbottom end thereof. A serial interconnect cable 421 may link into andout of the bottom connector 411 for carrying power supplied from thetable hub module (1010 of FIG. 2) and for carrying serial communicationsignals to and from the hub.

The PCB mounting holes, MH1 and MH2 aligned with screw holes provided ina bottom supporting structure 402 which supports the PCB from its bottomside (e.g., with machine screws (not shown) inserted from the bottom andthreaded into the PCB) and also supports an optics layer 403 that isdisposed as spaced apart by a predetermined separation distance from thePCB upper surface 401 a. In one embodiment, the interior of the bottomsupporting structure 402 is cylindrical in shape and colored black toprevent side reflections from it to the proximity detector Px. A flangedclamping cylinder 404 (e.g., also colored black) clamps the elements ofthe optics layer 403 down against an upper portion of the supportingstructure 402. The flanged clamping cylinder 404 additionally insertsdownwardly into a cylindrical hole passing through the tabletop 450 sothat the sensor assembly (e.g., that including 401 a, 401 d, 401 c, 410,411, 403) may rest on and be substantially flush with the top of thegaming table. Although not shown, the top of the flanged clampingcylinder 404 may have a beveled bezel for allowing easy sliding ofwagering tokens (e.g., 430—discuss shortly) from the tabletop and on toa desired central portion of the optics layer 403 over the proximitydetector Px.

A security cover 406 that includes a frusto-conically shaped middlesection surrounds the communication/power daughter board 410, the bottomconnector 411 and fits into a cylindrical receiving depression formed inthe bottom supporting structure 402. In one embodiment, the interior ofthe security cover is colored black to avoid unwanted light reflections.Security screws (or other appropriate fasteners) 405 connect from theoutside of the flanged clamping cylinder 404 to the inside of thesecurity cover 406 to secure the two together. In one embodiment thesecurity cover 406 has a first cylindrical portion at its top extendingfrom the frusto-conical portion and fitting into the cylindricalreceiving depression of the bottom support structure 402. The securitycover 406 further has a second cylindrical portion of smaller diameterat its bottom extending from the frusto-conical portion with threadingprovided around the outside of this second cylindrical portion. Ascrew-on bottom flanged piece 407 screws onto the lower threadedcylindrical portion of the security cover and tightens up against thebottom of the tabletop 450 while also covering access to the securityfasteners 405. Thus the sensor assembly is securely mounted to andthrough the table top. To remove the sensor assembly, one has to getunder the gaming table and unscrew the screwed-on bottom flanged piece407. In one embodiment, the serial hub connection made at connector 411first has to be disconnected before the screw-on bottom flanged piece407 can be unscrewed from the security cover 406. When the serial hubconnection is so removed from connector 411, a disconnect signal isautomatically generated by the hub (1010) indicating which sensor 100 onthe table has become disconnected. This disconnect signal is sent to acentral security server so that no table gaming input sensor can beinterfered with without knowledge of and authorization by the centralsecurity server. If unauthorized tampering is detected, appropriatealarms are generated.

In one embodiment, the optics layer 403 is a multilayered one having ananti-scratch surface on its top and further optical processing layersbeneath it. At least part of the optics layer 403 is configured to allowRGB visible light emitted from the LED rings and IR proximity sensinglight emitted from the proximity detector Px to exit through it asindicated at 436 so that the proximity detector Px can perform itsproximity detection functions using pulsed IR radiation and so thatusers of the table can see desired lighting effects emitted from the LEDrings of PCB surface 401 a. In one embodiment, the optics layer 403includes a darkened or smoked glass or other such semi-opaque lightpassing material (e.g., composed of one or more appropriate plastics)having an opacity that hides the details of the circuitry on the PCBupper surface 401 a and yet allows for functional operability of thephotodetectors inside the proximity detector Px for detecting thereflection of the IR pulses emitted from the detector Px and returnedfrom an approaching object (e.g., wager token 430 or a gesture makingplayer's hand). Additionally, the optics layer 403 allows for detectingof visible light colors reflected from objects (e.g., user's hand orwagering token 430) as they pass by or come to rest over a detectionwindow of the detector Px. In one embodiment, the optics layer 403 hasan opacity rating of around PB40 or a lesser opacity. It has been foundthat the visible and IR light detectors of the APDS-9660™ integratedcircuit consistently work well even when a PB40 filter is interposedbetween that proximity detector and features (e.g., 430) that are to bedetected above the filter.

When a casino-issued wagering token 430 is laterally slid along thetabletop and then over the detection window of the proximity detectorPx, several things take place. The Px integrated circuit isautomatically repeatedly switching among the number of its operationalmodes including that of scanning for approaching objects with its pulsedIR emissions and scanning for changes in the ambient lighting with itsvisible light detectors. As the wagering token 430 moves laterally inthe indicated direction 431, the proximity detector Px will begin todetect a change from the normal ambient condition (which normal ambientcondition, such as consistent flickerings of lights 460 from overheadlight sources are stored in a history buffer and automaticallysubtracted from current inputs so as to better differentiate when thereis a change). The proximity detector Px will also detect the intensityof IR reflections from the approaching wagering token 430 and thedirection 431 from which it is approaching towards the center of thedetection window. Moreover, as the token approaches, reflections ofambient light (460) from the cylindrical outer rim 437 of the token willbe newly added to what was the normal ambient inputs that the visiblelight detectors (RGBC) were previously detecting. This changed opticalinput is detected by the proximity detector Px. In one embodiment. thecylindrical outer rims 437 of a first class of tokens are color-codedwith a first color not usually found on player hands (e.g., green) so asto signify a first wagering value of and/or first kind of token whilethe outer rims 437 of a second class of tokens are colored with adifferent second color also not usually found on player's hands (e.g.,purple) so as to signify a different second wagering value and/or asecond kind of token. The detected rim color is reported to the softwareexecuting in the table controller 1000.

As the token 430 continues to move in direction 431 to fully cover thedetection window of the proximity detector Px, light 460 from theoverhead sources are blocked (assuming the token is opaque, whereinother embodiments it may be translucent). This change condition is alsoreported to the table software. Next, certain ones of the lights in theLED rings of PCB layer 401 a are turned on to a predetermined intensityfor illuminating the underside 438 of the overlying token 430. Acorresponding color reflected from the underside 438 is detected andreported to the table software. In one embodiment, the coloring on theunderside is also an unusual one not normally found on a player's hand(e.g., yellow). One or a combination of the colors detected from theunderside 438 and from the rim 437 of the token 430 placed over thesensor area 100 is used for determining at least one of a wager valueand a wager type. Dimensions of the specially colored areas on the tokenand the timings of their detection may be used to determine the speed atwhich the token 430 was slid onto the sensor area 100. This additionalinformation may also be forwarded to the table software for use asdeemed appropriate.

Although FIG. 4A depicts an embodiment with all individuallyprogrammable emitters of visible light (e.g., LEDic's) mounted on thetop surface 401 a of a multilayer printed circuit board (PCB 401 a/401d), it is within the contemplation of the present disclosure toalternatively or additionally have individually programmable RGBemitters (e.g., LEDic's) mounted on the bottom surface 401 d and/or on aseparate additional PCB (not shown) while the light outputs of theseemitters are routed towards the top optics layer 403 by way of opticalfibers and/or other light guiding devices (e.g., waveguides). It iswithin the contemplation of the present disclosure to provide for heatdissipation in cases where relatively high levels of luminance aredesired from each independently programmable RGB emitter (pixel) and arelatively large number of such emitters (e.g., greater than 48) arecrowded into the secured interior of the sensor assembly. For example,bottom support structure 402 may be made of or may include a good heatconducting material (e.g., copper, aluminum, etc.) that is thermallycoupled to the RGB emitters (e.g., LEDic's) and is further thermallycoupled by way of security fasteners 405 two a finned heat sink (notshown) extending downwardly within the screw-on bottom flange 407, wherethe latter has ventilation holes (not shown) for in-taking cool air fromthe bottom of the assembly and exhausting warm air from upper sideportions of the assembly that are underneath the tabletop 450.

It is within the contemplation of the present disclosure that integratedcircuit packages with plural independently programmable RGB emitters ofrelatively high efficiency will become available and that suchmulti-color emitters-containing IC's may be substituted for thesingle-pixel per package LEDic's of FIG. 1B so as to thereby providedenser concentrations of independently programmable, multi-color pixelsorganized into respective rings (annular zones). Examples of suchmulti-pixel IC's may include ones with a 2×2 square array ofindependently programmable pixels (4 pixels per IC) or with a 3×3 squarearray of independently programmable pixels (9 pixels per IC) and so on.Various color-based and intensity-based animation effects similar toones disclosed herein for the single pixel RGB IC's (LEDic's) may beimplemented with such multi-pixel IC's.

In one embodiment, the following automated steps take place: (1)Determine that an object is within a predetermined proximity of the PuckSensor; (2) Sample the RGB colors of the incoming object to distinguishbetween token or presence of a human hand; (3 a) If token, determine thetoken denomination (e.g., Green=$25; Yellow=$5); (3 b) If not tokenand/or predetermined hand characteristics detected, switch into gesturedetermining mode and interpret the hand gestures. In one embodiment, theproximity measuring and gesture interpretation features of the Px IC arefactory-trimmed and calibrated to a resolution of 100 mm proximitydetection distance without requiring customer calibrations. Gesturedetection utilizes the four directional photodiodes, integrated withvisible blocking filter, to accurately sense simple UP-DOWN-RIGHT-LEFTgestures or more complex 3D gestures. When a side-bet “chip” is detectedby the Puck Sensor, serial data may be automatically transmitted to theTable Controller (1000) as an indication to the Table Controller systemand to the dealer/operator that a specific player has placed a side-bet“chip” at his/her specific game table seat position. Besides detecting aside-bet “chip”, the Puck Sensor may also detect player handmotion/gestures and game specific markers during game play. In oneembodiment, the Puck Sensor uses smart RGB LEDs such as the WS2812B Mini3535 RGB LED and/or the SK6812 3535 RGB LEDs arranged as threeconcentric circles. The arrangement of the LEDic's as plural concentricannular structures allows the software to display unique color patternsand/or animations, such as simulating a spinning color wheel or aflashing red stop sign. The smart RGB LEDs may be efficiently controlledusing a single micro-controller, for example, anATmega48A/PA/88A/PA/168A/PA/328/P low power, CMOS 8-bit microcontrolleravailable from Microchip Technology Inc. at www.microchip.com.

In one embodiment, the following code may be stored in themicrocontroller for controlling the lights and providing variouslighting effects:

ringlet[i].reset(3);

//ringlet[i].state=0;

ringlet[i].setColor(000, 000, 255);

ringlet[i].setFade(i, RINGS_LCM*21/FADE_RANGE/2);

//ringlet[i].setColors(colors);

//ringlet[i].setRainbowWave(1);

-   -   }

}

}

apds.getColorData(&r, &g, &b, &c);

}

else if (!pause)

{

for (int i=0; i<NUM_RINGS; i++)

-   -   ringlet[i].update(thistime);        FastLED.show( )

}

while (Serial.available( )

-   -   {    -   Serial.readBytes(&inbuf, 1);    -   if (inbuf==0x41)        -   {            -   outbuf[0]=0x65;        -   outbuf[1]=0x05;            -   outbuf[2]=0x41;        -   outbuf[3]=0x00;            -   outbuf[4]=ischip ? 0x01: 0x00;        -   outbuf[5]=0x00;        -   outbuf[6]=0x00;        -   outbuf[7]=0x49;        -   Serial.write(outbuf, 8);        -   break;        -   }    -   else if (inbuf==0x42)        -   {        -   outbuf[0]=0x65;            -   outbuf[1]=0x05;        -   outbuf[2]=0x42;        -   outbuf[3]=0x00;        -   outbuf[4]=0x01; //1 puck            -   outbuf[5]=0x00;        -   outbuf[6]=0x00;        -   outbuf[7]=0x49;        -   Serial.write(outbuf, 8);        -   break;    -   }    -   //else switch (inbuf)    -   //{    -   //case ‘p’:    -   //if (pause)    -   //for (int i=0; i<NUM_RINGS; i++)    -   //ringlet[i].reset(3);    -   //pause=!pause;    -   //sprintf(outbuf, “% d PAUSE=% d\n”, inbuf, pause);

//Serial.print(outbuf);

-   -   //break;    -   //case ‘+’:    -   //FastLED.setBrightness(++brightness);    -   //Serial.print(brightness);    -   //break;    -   //case ‘-’:    -   //FastLED.setBrightness(--brightness);    -   //Serial.print(brightness);    -   //break;    -   //default:    -   //sprintf(outbuf, “% d R % d G % d B % d C % d P % d\n”, inbuf,        r, g, b, c, prox);    -   //Serial.print(outbuf);    -   //break;    -   //}

}

}

Referring to FIG. 5A, shown is a schematic of two serially linked daisychains of LEDic's each having twenty-four such smart LED integratedcircuits. The outer annular ring is driven by a signal from one of themicrocontroller serial output ports denoted as LEDOR (for Outer Ring).The middle and inner annular rings are driven by a second signal fromanother of the microcontroller serial ports denoted as LEDIR (for innerrings). As seen in FIG. 5A, the data output (DOUT) pin of a first LEDicin each chain connected directly to the data input (DIN) pin of the nextsuccessive LEDic in the chain until the terminal end of that chain ishit. The DOUT pin at the end of each chain is left unconnected.

FIG. 5B is a schematic of some of the power filter capacitors used inthe design of FIGS. 5A-5F. In one embodiment each such filter capacitoris 0.1 μF.

FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram showing connections for themicrocontroller (U4) as well as a planned pinout for a debug socket (P1)and the connection of the reset pushbutton switch Sw1.

FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram showing the interfacing between the 5Vsignals of the microcontroller and the 3.3V signals of the proximitydetector IC (U2). Briefly, a bidirectional level shifter U4 such as aTXSO102DCUR is used. FIG. 5E is a schematic diagram showing the voltageregulator (U1) used for producing the 3.3V power level from the main +5Vsupply of the PCB. FIG. 5F is a schematic diagram showing the power andcommunications connector 104 c already discussed with respect to FIGS.1B-1C.

Referring to FIG. 6, shown is a process 600 where the sensors 100 areused for messaging to the players at respective betting positions andreceiving appropriate wagers or other inputs from the respective playersof those betting positions. In step 611 the LEDic's are driven tomessage to each respective player that a corresponding time window isnow open for receiving a required ante wager or for receiving anoptional bonus and side bet wagers. More specifically, in oneembodiment, flashing green and blue light patterns are used to signal tothe respective players when required or optional ante and other types ofbets need to be placed. Solid red light patterns are used to signal thatwagers are currently not being accepted. A solid green circle of lightsof diameter corresponding to the OD of the place wager token is shownwhen the placed wager is accepted. The innermost circle of lights isblue or yellow depending on the accepted amount.

As shown in step 612, when a wager-representing token is timely placedover the sensor 100, the proximity detector IC (Px) of that sensor isused to detect the placement of such a token and its represented value.At step 613, the light patterns output by the sensor 100 are changed toindicate that the placed wager has been accepted and optionally toindicate the amount of the accepted wager (e.g., Blue=$5, Yellow=$50).At step 614, the dealer closes the time window for further wagers in acorresponding wagering round and signals the table controller (1000) tolock in the currently accepted wagers. The dealer then removes all theaccepted wager tokens from the table. At the same time, the tablecontroller (1000) commands all the tables sensors 100 at whichrespective wagers have been locked-in to show light patterns indicatingthat those wagers are locked-in.

At step 615, the dealer begins the wagered upon gaming action. This mayproceed through a variety of activities 616 including for example, thedealing out of cards from a deck, the rolling of dice, the spinning of aRoulette wheel, the spinning of other wheels or equivalent mechanisms ofchance and so on. At step 617, the final outcomes of the base gamingaction (e.g., card game) are revealed. The revealed results may indicatethat the player of a respective betting location has lost all hiscurrent bets and wagers. This condition may be detected automatically bythe table software or signaled by the table dealer. Corresponding tosuch a loss (step 618 a), the LEDic's of the betting position are usedto signal to the player that the gaming round is over and he or she haslost. In one embodiment this may entail displaying an icon that lookslike a sad face emoji (e.g., FIG. 4L).

On the other hand, for those betting positions where a player has oneindividually or is entitled to a community prize based on a communityevent in the base game, this condition may also be detectedautomatically by the table software or signaled by the table dealer. Inresponse and at corresponding step 618 b, the LEDic's of the respectivebetting positions are used to signal to those players that the gaminground is over and he or she has won something. In one embodiment thismay entail displaying an icon that looks like a happy face emoji (e.g.,FIG. 4J).

An example of what may next happen when a winning player wins a chancefor a bonus spin is shown at step 619. The LEDic's of the respectivebetting position are used to signal to the player that a wheel spin iscoming up. Then the Px detector of that betting position is used todetect a hand gesture made by the winning player for initiating thebonus spin. At step 620 the outcome of the bonus spin is determined. Inone embodiment, the bonus spin may entitle the player to pick a surpriseprize 36 c (e.g., one of treasure chests A, B, C of FIG. 1A). At step622, the LEDic's of the respective betting position are used to signalto the player that a hand gesture is needed for moving an on-screencursor (e.g., 36 b) to the left or to the right. This may be signaledfor example by light dots that move in one direction across the circlearea of the sensor 100 and then pause and repeat. The Px detector ofthat betting position is then used to detect a hand gesture made by theplayer for moving the cursor. In one embodiment, the colors andanimations of lights output by the sensor 100 match similar colors andanimations appearing on the tables big-screen 36. This allows the playerto intuitively understand the connection between what is being displayedat the sensor 100 and what is being correspondingly displayed on thescreen and 36. Various other activities involving the sensor 100 andgestures made by respective players at different betting positions foractivating or stopping the spinning of wheels or the movement of otherby chance mechanisms (e.g., spinning virtual reels) may be provided incontinuation portion 626. At step 628 the total winnings of eachparticipating player are respectively awarded. The LEDic's of all thetables sensors may then be turned off for short while to indicate thatthe round is over and then they are turned on again to indicate thebeginning of a next gaming round requiring placement of a new antewager.

Referring to FIG. 7, a flow chart is shown for a method 700 of adjustingthe minimum and maximum brightness outputs of the LEDic's using thepre-calibrated proximity detector IC (Px). At step 711, the detector(Px) is used to sense the current ambient lighting condition (460) basedon the portion of the ambient lighting 460 which passes through theoptics layer 403 (FIG. 4A) where the bandpass transmissioncharacteristics of that optics layer are predetermined. In step 712, andbased on the known bandpass transmission characteristics of the opticslayer 403, software defined minimums and maximums for the R, G, B outputLEDs of the LEDic's are set. By way of example, although the hardwarelimits for the red light output intensity is in the range R=0 to R=255,the software defined range may be reset to Rmin=5 and Rmax=248. The samegoes for the other LED color outputs, for example, Gmin=6 and Gmax=249;Bmin=7 and Bmax=250. In one embodiment, the ambient conditions sensed bythe factory pre-calibrated photodetectors of the proximity detector IC(Px) may also be used to establish a software defined level of intensityfor the output IR pulses of the proximity detector. Power can be savedif ambient noise is relatively low and the intensity of the output IRpulses can be correspondingly lowered. Similarly, and as indicated insub step 714 a, if the visible portion of the ambient lighting is sensedto be relatively dim, then the software may automatically lower thesoftware set Min's and Max's for the respective output lightintensities. On the other hand, and as indicated in sub step 714 b, ifthe visible portion of the ambient lighting is sensed to be relativelybright, then the software may automatically and correspondingly increasethe software set Min's and Max's for the respective output lightintensities. In one embodiment, each puck sensor 100 includes atemperature sensor for detecting heat level inside the sensor assembly(e.g., at surface 401 a of FIG. 4A). If the temperature is detected tobe above a predetermined threshold, then the software may temporarilylower the software-set Min's and Max's for the respective output lightintensities until the interior of the sensor assembly cools down as isindicated at step 714 c. After a predetermined amount of waiting time,control returns to step 711 for resampling the ambient conditions andadjusting the software-set Min's and Max's accordingly.

Referring to FIG. 8, a flow chart is shown for a method 800 ofautomatically detecting the placement of casino-authorized wageringtokens. At step 811, the pre-calibrated Px detector's are used to sensethe reflected color coding lights of incoming wager tokens (e.g., 430)as such lights are passed through the optics 403 having knowntransmission bandwidths. In one embodiment, the casino-authorized colorsfor the token rims 437 and/or the token undersides 438 arepredetermined. If an incoming token is detected to not have theappropriate number and/or relative widths of and/or appropriate relativespacings between color coded bands of the incoming token, an alarm maybe generated at step 812 due to the detection of a suspect wageringtoken. Otherwise, if the token is determined to be authentic, one ofstate determined further steps 814 a, 814 c, 814 b may be taken. Forexample if a predetermined token coding identified as Coding #1 isdetected by the pre-calibrated Px detector, then the software acceptsthe placed token as representing a first wagering amount denoted asAmount #1 in step 814 a. If a predetermined token coding identified asCoding #2 is detected by the pre-calibrated Px detector, then thesoftware accepts the placed token as representing a second wageringamount denoted as Amount #2 in step 814 b. And so on. In subsequent step815, the wagered upon game of chance is played based on the acceptedtoken amounts. Then as a time window opens up for placement of yetfurther wagers, control is returned to step 811 for repeat of theprocess.

Because physical instantiations of signals representing information andprogram instructions may be employed to implement the systems/methodsdescribed herein, the present disclosure of invention relates totangible (non-transitory) machine readable media that include programinstructions, state information, etc. for performing various operationsdescribed herein. Examples of machine-readable media include hard disks,floppy disks, magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROM disks andDVDs; magneto-optical media such as optical disks, and hardware devicesthat are specially configured to store and perform program instructions,such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and programmable read-only memorydevices (PROMs). Examples of program instructions include both machinecode, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher levelcode that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

Although many of the components and processes are described above in thesingular for convenience, it will be appreciated by one of skill in theart that multiple components and repeated processes can also be used topractice the techniques of the present disclosure.

While the present disclosure of invention has been particularly shownand described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that changes in the form anddetails of the disclosed embodiments may be made without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the present teachings. It is therefore intendedthat the disclosure be interpreted to include all variations andequivalents that fall within the true spirit and scope of the presentteachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A machine-assisted method of managing a game ofchance played by one or more players at a gaming table having pluralbetting positions, the method comprising: while a predetermined firsttime window is open for receiving at least a first wager of the game,using a respective pre-calibrated proximity detecting integrated circuit(Px IC) provided at each respective betting position of the gaming tableto automatically detect if a corresponding optically encoded and thenacceptable first wager token has been placed over the respective Px ICof each one of the respective betting positions as the respective firstwager for that betting position, each of the respective Px IC's havingcapability to detect and distinguish among different hand gestures madespaced apart from and proximate to the respective Px IC and to detectand identify optically encoded wager tokens placed over the respectivePx IC; at closing of the predetermined first time window, causing arespective plurality of multi-colored light emitters disposed adjacentto the respective Px IC and provided at each of the respective bettingpositions where placement of a corresponding first wager token has beendetected by the respective Px IC to output a respective first ofdifferently colored light patterns, the first light pattern indicatingat least to the respective player of that respective betting positionthat the corresponding first wager has been automatically accepted ashaving been timely placed at that respective betting position by way ofa then acceptable first wager token; and using the respective Px IC ofat least one of the betting positions to detect a hand gesture madespaced apart from and proximate to that respective Px IC.
 2. Themachine-assisted method of claim 1 wherein the respective plurality ofmulti-colored light emitters at each respective betting position isdistributed among at least two annular zones adjacent to and surroundingthe respective Px IC of that respective betting position such that eachannular zone is populated by and thereby substantially defined by acorresponding subset of the respective plurality of multi-colored lightemitters respectively distributed within a respective one of the atleast two annular zones.
 3. The machine-assisted method of claim 2wherein the at least two annular zones are circular and concentricrelative to the Px IC.
 4. The machine-assisted method of claim 2 whereinthere are at least three annular zones populated by and therebysubstantially defined by corresponding subsets of the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters.
 5. The machine-assistedmethod of claim 1 wherein the respective plurality of multi-coloredlight emitters at each respective betting position is constituted bymulti-color LEDs embedded in smart lighting integrated circuits(LEDic's) that are each structured to receive a self-clocking serialcommand signal, consume a portion of the received serial command signaland output a remainder of the received serial command signal foroptional receipt by a next such LEDic in a serial chain of such LEDic's.6. The machine-assisted method of claim 5 wherein the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters at each respective bettingposition is constituted by at least 16 such LEDic's.
 7. Themachine-assisted method of claim 6 wherein the respective plurality ofmulti-colored light emitters at each respective betting position isconstituted by at least 48 such LEDic's.
 8. The machine-assisted methodof claim 7 wherein the at least 48 LEDic's are mounted on asubstantially circular printed circuit board having a diameter of lessthan 3 inches.
 9. The machine-assisted method of claim 6 wherein therespective LEDic's at each respective betting position areinterconnected as at least two independent serial chains.
 10. Themachine-assisted method of claim 1 wherein detections performed by eachrespective Px IC include detecting proximity of an approaching object tothe respective Px IC using a plurality of IR detecting photodiodesprovided in the respective Px IC and detecting coloration of theapproaching object using a plurality of visible light detectingphotodiodes provided in the respective Px IC.
 11. The machine-assistedmethod of claim 1 and further comprising: while a predetermined secondtime window of the game is open for receiving at least a second wager,using the respective Px IC provided at each respective betting positionto automatically detect if a corresponding optically encoded and thenacceptable second wager token has been placed at one or more of therespective betting positions as a then acceptable second wager; and atclosing of the predetermined second time window, causing the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters provided at each of therespective betting positions where placement of a corresponding and thenacceptable second wager token has been detected by the respective Px ICto output a respective light pattern indicating that the correspondingsecond wager has been accepted at that respective betting position. 12.The machine-assisted method of claim 11 and further comprising: whilethe game is still ongoing but after all time windows for receivingwagers of the game are closed, causing the respective plurality ofmulti-colored light emitters provided at each of the respective bettingpositions to signal to their respective players and by way of arespectively colored light pattern that no more wagers can be acceptedfor the game.
 13. The machine-assisted method of claim 12 and furthercomprising: after a first round of playing the game completes and asecond round begins, causing the respective plurality of multi-coloredlight emitters provided at each of the respective betting positions tosignal to their respective players that new wagers can now be acceptedfor the second round.
 14. The machine-assisted method of claim 11 andfurther comprising: while the game is still ongoing and a hand gestureis called for at one of the betting positions, causing the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters provided at the one bettingposition to signal to the respective player of the one betting positionthat a hand gesture is called for at the one betting position.
 15. Themachine-assisted method of claim 14 wherein: the using of the respectivePx IC of at least one of the betting positions to detect a hand gestureincludes using that respective Px IC to detect the called-for handgesture.
 16. The machine-assisted method of claim 15 wherein the Px ICdetected hand gesture is a gesture that includes directional movement ina 3D region proximate to the Px IC.
 17. The machine-assisted method ofclaim 15 wherein the Px IC is disposed under a semi-opaque optics layer.18. The machine-assisted method of claim 1 wherein at least one of thedifferently colored light patterns persistently uses a first color foreach player for indicating to that player that an input is not currentlyacceptable at the player's betting position thereby training the playerto associate the first color with an intuitive understanding that aninput is not currently acceptable at the player's betting position. 19.The machine-assisted method of claim 18 wherein at least a second of thedifferently colored light patterns persistently uses a second color foreach player for indicating to that player that an input is currentlyacceptable at the player's betting position thereby training the playerto associate the second color with an intuitive understanding that aninput is currently acceptable at the player's betting position.
 20. Themachine-assisted method of claim 19 wherein the first color is red andthe second color is green.
 21. The machine-assisted method of claim 1wherein the Px IC has at least three connections to external circuitry,at least one of the connections carrying digital output data.
 22. Amachine system for managing a game of chance played by one or moreplayers at a gaming table having plural betting positions, the systemcomprising at each respective betting position: color-distinguishingwager placement detecting means for automatically detecting if acorresponding color encoded and first wager token has been placed at therespective betting position as the first wager while a predeterminedfirst time window is open for receiving at least a first wager of thegame, the wager placement detecting means including a respectivepre-calibrated proximity detecting integrated circuit (Px IC) havingcapability to detect and distinguish among different hand gestures madespaced apart from and proximate to the respective Px IC and to detectand identify optically encoded wager tokens placed over the respectivePx IC; and game state signaling means, disposed adjacent to thecolor-distinguishing wager placement detecting means and configured forsignaling to the player of the respective betting position and by way ofa corresponding first of differently colored light patterns that acorresponding first wager token has been detected and accepted, the gamestate signaling means including a respective plurality of multi-coloredlight emitters operable to output the differently colored lightpatterns.
 23. The machine system of claim 22 wherein the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters at each respective bettingposition is distributed among at least two annular zones so that eachannular zone is populated by and thereby substantially defined by acorresponding subset of the respective plurality of multi-colored lightemitters.
 24. The machine system of claim 23 wherein the at least twoannular zones of each betting position are circular and concentricrelative to the respective Px IC of the corresponding betting position.25. The machine system of claim 23 wherein there are at least threeannular zones populated by corresponding subsets of the respectiveplurality of multi-colored light emitters.
 26. The machine system ofclaim 22 wherein the respective plurality of multi-colored lightemitters at each respective betting position is constituted bymulti-color LEDs embedded in smart lighting integrated circuits(LEDic's) that are each structured to receive a self-clocking serialcommand signal, consume a portion of the received serial command signaland output a remainder of the received serial command signal foroptional receipt by a next such LEDic in a serial chain of such LEDic's.27. The machine system of claim 26 wherein the respective plurality ofmulti-colored light emitters at each respective betting position isconstituted by at least 48 such LEDic's.
 28. The machine system of claim27 wherein the at least 48 LEDic's are mounted on a substantiallycircular printed circuit board having a diameter of less than 3 inches.29. The machine system of claim 22 wherein at each respective bettingposition, a respective and integrated combination of thecolor-distinguishing wager placement detecting means and of the gamestate signaling means is securely fastened to the gaming table.
 30. Themachine system of claim 29 wherein at each respective betting position,a respective cup-shaped cover is screwed vertically upward fromunderneath the gaming table to surround and securely fasten to thegaming table, the respective integrated combination of thecolor-distinguishing wager placement detecting means and the game statesignaling means of the respective betting position.
 31. A non-transitorycomputer readable storage having machine executable instructionsrecorded therein for use in managing a game of chance played by one ormore players at a gaming table having plural betting positions, therecorded instructions causing a corresponding machine system to performa method, comprising: automatically performing detection of an input,the detection occurring while a predetermined first time window is openfor receiving at least a first wager of a first round of the game andthe detection using a respective pre-calibrated proximity detectingintegrated circuit (Px IC) provided at each respective betting positionto automatically detect if a corresponding first wager token has beenplaced at one or more of the respective betting positions as the firstwager, wherein the respective Px IC has capability to detect anddistinguish among different hand gestures made spaced apart from andproximate to the respective Px IC and to detect and identify opticallyencoded wager tokens placed over the respective Px IC; and automaticallysignaling by use of a first of differently colored light patterns and toone or more of the players at closing of the predetermined first timewindow, the signaling using a respective plurality of multi-coloredlight emitters disposed adjacent to and surrounding the respective Px ICprovided at each of the respective betting positions where placement ofa corresponding first wager token has been detected, the signalingincluding outputting the first of the differently colored light patternsfrom each respective plurality of multi-colored light emitters at abetting position where the detection of the first wager token hasoccurred, the signaling indicating that the corresponding first wagerhas been accepted at that respective betting position.